In such a oneness it is not possible to have division, not even dissension. In this oneness there is no room even for our opinion. Although we need much more experience of the divine "painting" which brings us into oneness, we have had at least some experience of this in the church life. To a certain degree at least, we have all entered into the oneness.
When we were in the denominations or independent groups, we found it easy to be opinionated or critical. But in the church the dissenting element and divisive factors are subdued. This is the effect of oneness. The more the "paint" of the processed Triune God is applied to our being, the more difficult it is for us to be divided. Through the application of the heavenly "paint," we are brought into the genuine oneness, not the superficial oneness that is according to the natural concept. We are in the oneness which is the processed Triune God "painted" into our very being.
As we have pointed out, this ointment, this divine "paint" does not run down; it spreads. I want my house to be painted with paint that will stick, not with paint that will run down the walls like water. Likewise, when the ointment is applied to us, it sticks to our inner being; it does not run down. The running of the ointment is like the experiences in Pentecostalism or in the charismatic movement. Experiences of that kind pass quickly. In the church life, however, the spiritual blessing comes to us gradually, slowly, and gently. But once it comes, it remains. Once the "paint" is applied to us, it stays. After we have been coated with the anointing oil, the coat remains forever. Nothing can eradicate it.
The anointing does not cause us to have very much feeling in our emotion. Those experiences that come and go quickly, on the contrary, stir up our feeling. But this is not the normal experience in the church life. In the church life we experience the gradual spreading of the all-inclusive ointment. For example, in the church prayer meeting we may receive one or two "coats" of "paint" without having much feeling of it. As we have pointed out, this ointment has many ingredients. How grateful we are to the Lord for His recovery. Day by day in the church life, all the ingredients of the divine ointment are being wrought into us. Through the application of these ingredients to our inward being, we are spontaneously in the oneness. We find it exceedingly difficult to be divisive or even dissenting. How good, lovely, and enjoyable is the oneness in the church! The only way to be divisive is for us to make a strong decision contrary to our inner being. We are one spontaneously because we have been "painted" with all the elements of the heavenly "paint."
The ground of oneness is simply the processed Triune God applied to our being. This is the oneness in which we find ourselves today. We are not in a oneness produced by adding together those who believe in Christ. In that kind of oneness it is just as easy to have subtraction as it is to have addition. However, once we have been brought into the oneness produced by the application of the processed Triune God to our being, it is very difficult to have any subtraction. This oneness is altogether different from the oneness in today's Christianity. The oneness in Christianity involves addition and subtraction. But the oneness in the churches in the Lord's recovery involves the application of the Triune God to our inward being.